THE marketing for sale of an enormous London villa designed by Decimus Burton could not have come at a better time for a museum about the architect planned for Tunbridge Wells.
According to trade and financial press reports, a loan secured on The Holme, in Regent’s Park – along with other assets – has expired, and the property has been put into the hands of receivers and could potentially be sold for a record sum.
The property is reportedly owned by Saudi royal Prince Abdullah bin Khalid bin Sultan al-Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family, along with other family members.
Trade and financial press reports said agents Knight Frank and Beauchamp Estates have been appointed to handle the sale, which could fetch as much as £250million.
The current record price for a London home is £210million for a mansion overlooking Hyde Park, which the Financial Times revealed last year as belonging to Hui Ka Yan, founder of Chinese property developer Evergrande.
The flurry of interest in the national press came weeks after the Decimus Burton Society held a public exhibition about its planned Decimus Burton Museum and Study Centre.
“I couldn’t believe it when the news came out,” said Tunbridge Wells-based architect Paul Avis of the Decimus Burton Society.
“It (The Holme) has always been a fairly private residence and there have only been a few occasions that the garden has been opened.”
The Regent’s Park property was special in that it became a family home for Mr Burton himself, but Tunbridge Wells also has a personal connection due to the architect’s practice of building himself a residence on site when he built a development.
“He did have a cottage here (in Tunbridge Wells) that he designed, called Baston Cottage,” said Mr Avis.
The Society held a presentation of the museum concept in late February and is set to present the plan to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council this April, he confirmed.
Plans for the museum and study centre can be seen at thedecimusburtonsociety.org
